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Summer 2018 Program Guide

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If you wish to vote for the OSCA Board, you must be an OSCA member. If you wish to stand for election to become a Board member, you must also have signed up as a member at least three months before the AGM. To become a member click below and register today - it’s free!
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2018 Summer Camps

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OSCA Celebrates 40 years!

2018 marks the 40th anniversary of The Old Ottawa South Community Association! Stay tuned for a wonderful year filled with celebration. Throughout 2018 we'll be looking back on the wonderful years we've had, and planning for the even more amazing years ahead! Stay connected with us through Facebook, Twitter, and Instragram as we celebrate our anniversary! @OldOttSouth

Here are some pictures from Friday morning's (July 21st) Green Dreamer gathering at the Library. Christine & Mike secured a lovely selection of plants from Krysia's garden on Riverdale earlier in the week and with the help of fellow Green Dreamers transplanted mature succulents, lavender, and generous clumps of sedum in the once empty Bank Street planter. Needless to say, more mulch was added!

Saturday July 8th was a routine Green Dreamer garden date (we meet every Wednesday & Saturday). In the early hours of the morning however there were thunder showers with a heavy downpour. A couple of us who were up early enough thought perhaps it would be better to cancel. The ground was soggy and the sky continued to look a little threatening. Two Green Dreamers, however, did not see our 8:00 a.m. cancellation call and met at Sunnyside & Bank. Once up and out, they saw no reason to retreat. Instead they did a little gardening.

We will meet at Sunnyside & Bank on Saturday, July 8, 2017 from 8:30 - 10:30 a.m. Depending on weather and numbers of Green Dreamers, we will branch out to do some transplanting and some light gardening at the Firehall and at the Hopewell School bed nearest the younger kids' playground.

On Thursday July 7th, Brian Ure and I moved some perennials from the former Hortus Urbanus garden on Glen to the bed nearest the TD building. Ailsa Francis began her work on the new Oat Couture Garden Wednesday, July 6th, and asked us to move what she is excavating. So we did! The public bed nearest the new Oat Couture garden will likely be affected by the patio design and renovations taking place. We will maintain this public bed but not plant anything new in the near future. We agree with Ailsa that the weed trees on this bed should be removed and a new tree planted. When this happens we will have to be prepared to save perennials already planted. Stay tuned. It all looks good!!

Late Tuesday night on July 4th, Green Dreamer Barbara Dempsey sent an email to fellow gardeners about several hostas that needed saving on Cameron Avenue. Her neighbours, David and Michelle Chan, had advised that their long anticipated deck renovations were beginning early the next day.

One of the more rewarding features to being a Green Dreamer is the compliments we receive from friends, neighbours, passersby, and other gardeners. Recently, we received some praise that caught us by surprise:

At the May 2017 AGM, Brenda Lee received the Outstanding Lifetime Volunteer Award from OSCA for over 20 years of volunteering on the OSCA Board and on the Events Committee. Brenda has been a strong supporter for events that bring the community together and has given of her time and knowledge openly and selflessly. Her contribution to the community has been felt in many ways, and the community will continue to benefit for years to come because of her efforts, and establishment of key OSCA events.

This is a transcript of her acceptance speech originally published in the June 2017 OSCAR.

Green Dreamers Just Keep on Trucking

Our requests for perennials this Spring from all of you who read OSCAR, visit OSCA’s website, honk your horns as you drive by, and stop to discuss gardening every Wednesday and Saturday mornings has been very successful. The challenge for Green Dreamers this summer and fall will be moving perennials from private gardens to Old Ottawa South’s public beds in a timely and efficient manner.

Green Dreamers will meet on the corner of Glen/Bank Saturday morning, June 10th 8:30 - 10:30 a.m. The task at hand is weeding, turning soil, and removing dead growth. Depending on our numbers, we might be able to tackle the garden bed at Grove/Bank as well. Tools that will prove helpful include trowels, clippers, pitch forks, shovels, and brown bags. As we move from bed to bed this season we are finding it very easy to weed and to turn soil. The earth is light, easy to press a pitch fork into and just as easy to dig. What a difference from when we first started!